Culture is such a multi-faceted subject - I can't even begin to fathom the best way of teaching it. But why not try? Like the survey we discussed in class touched upon, learning a certain language is definitely affected by the culture associated with that language, and I am strongly of the opinion that learning about that culture is a vital factor in becoming truly fluent and in acquiring a solid understanding of the language.
So far I have the idea that I could implement a cultural activity (whether it be verbal, aural, oral, or visual) maybe each week or every other week depending on how ambitious I am, and then note which kinds of activities work best in that age group (which is 6-9 years old, I think.)
Senta mentioned bringing sports into the activities, which I thought was a cool idea, and could potentially be interactive both mentally and physically. However, I would like to use this project as a sort of trial - to test different types of activities with all different types of approaches (as many and as varying as possible) so that I can note which sorts of activities work best with them, in terms of keeping their attention, as well as how successfully the cultural topic is absorbed by them. So if anyone has any sorts of activities they'd like to throw out there or any topics they think would be fun or interesting or successful then please feel free to express your opinion to me! Or if you think this is a horrible idea, that would be good to know too.
I would also like to use this blog to keep track of each "German For Kids" class, just so I have some record of what happened that day that I can go back to, in hopes that it could stimulate some sort of genius revelation on my part or on the part of one of my classmates. Mind you, I haven't actually implemented any sort of cultural context with these kids as of now.
"German For Kids" is every Wednesday, and it started last Wednesday (the 14th). The first lesson went...well how you'd expect 6-9 year olds to act when coming back from a long break from school related activities. They were restless to say the least and I think the "all Deutsch all the time" tactic frusturated their recooperating brains - not to say that I don't find the tactic a good one.
They are truly a strange group of children - they all for the most part come from the East Lansing area, yet no two kids in the class are the same. Some of them are even related, but still they are all very different and cope differently with the stress of learning a foreign language. I guess I should mention that I worked with most of these same kids all last semester, so my observations are not stemming from two sessions alone. My point here, is that their varying coping techniques and their different reactions to learning are going to be important for me to remember when forming my activities. I predict it will be extremely difficult to hold the attention of all of them with the same activity, and that there will be a wide range of reactions to the activities that are to be implemented.
To put this into context, there is, for example, one child who cries at the slightest hint of frustration and lack of understanding. There is another who I like to define as "fickle" in that this child will at one moment be very involved and at the next will refuse to take part in any activity. The child's involvement seems to me to be completely arbitrary, and as of now I sense no pattern in this child's interest (or lack there of) in certain activities.
The second week of "German For Kids" was a little more successful in my opinion. The kids were more attentive than the week before, but they seemed less interested, and somewhat bored. But like I said, it was more successful - when we reviewed from the last class, most of the children were on task and able to at least attempt to answer the questions. The class as a whole was also much less chaotic than when they came in the first week - in other words they have recooperated from the winter break for the most part, it appears.
For now, that is all. I will probably update this at least once a week with what happened at "German For Kids", if not for the interest of my classmates and my professor, then for my own benefit, though it is only required for me to blog 5 times during the course of the semester. Again, comments, suggestions, brilliant ideas, etc. are all warmly welcome!
I am looking forward to the panel discussion on Monday - it has been a long break from the class, and it is weird to think we have only meant once since the beginning of the semester!
So..
Bis dann!
This is similar to what Theresa might be doing for her Research Plan, so you two might be able to combine forces.
ReplyDeleteI think, your observations are really great. Classroom culture of course is also a culture .... just another idea to throw at you.
But I like your idea of finding differnt ways of teaching culture given the vast age range. The kids in this section are in an environment that in Germany we call a "Familienklasse" which means mixed ages - sort of Montessori-ish in approach. There is opportunity in that, too. ....
Also, of course, some of them are already bicultural themselves....
I am just throwing out ideas for you.
In Oregon there was an organisation on campus that had "culture boxes" for teachers. I liked that idea. So, if you were a teacher and wanted to teach your students about Sudan, you called that office and they would sent you a box with some materials (products, songs, books, etc) and some teaching ideas. That might also be an idea.